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Thanks for the video, Avery has the best speed in the organization. I completely agree with you that if he could take more walks and get his OBP up, he would be a great lead off man. I'm anxious to see what the club does with him, we also have Hoes and Urrutia that can play OF.It seems like one of the three would be a great trade chip, otherwise they are waiting to see what happens with Mclouth. I'm not sure what Mclouth will want for next season. He's not worth the 12-15 million I've seen thrown around. Just my opinion.

Avery is a great athlete, but I don't think he really fits in our organization. LJ Hoes is looking more and more like the Orioles 2014 left fielder. If he starts to hit better, he could be nice trade bait. He is only 23, but IMO will be more Chris Dickerson than Nate McLouth.

osforlife wrote:Avery is a great athlete, but I don't think he really fits in our organization. LJ Hoes is looking more and more like the Orioles 2014 left fielder. If he starts to hit better, he could be nice trade bait. He is only 23, but IMO will be more Chris Dickerson than Nate McLouth.

I wish the Orioles would put together a video of Chris Davis when he first came to Baltimore, the beginning and end of last season, and the first half of this one; and then make it available to every player in our organization. What they would see is a player who made an honest assessment of his faults and corrected most of them.

Avery is a perfect example. If he were to flatten his swing out, become a plus bunter, and develop better plate discipline he could have a solid ML career. With his speed and a .375 or better OBA he could become a solid lead off hitter.

Hoes has improved his OBA every year and is now over .400. That's real good, although he's not a base stealer.Avery probably has a higher ceiling, but he doesn't seem to be headed in that direction these days.

mikezpen wrote:Hoes has improved his OBA every year and is now over .400. That's real good, although he's not a base stealer.Avery probably has a higher ceiling, but he doesn't seem to be headed in that direction these days.

In a perfect world we would open next season with Jones moving to LF, Avery hitting at Hoes' level and playing CF, and Urrutia as the DH against LH pitching.

osforlife wrote:I've heard this about Urrutia hitting against LHP before. He's strictly a left handed hitter, does he hit LHP better than RHP for some reason?

It's not that I question his talent, it's just that I think it would be best to let him hit in a position where he can be most successful right away. We had Machado hitting in the eight hole when he first came up and after about 200 ABs he was moved to the two hole. Maybe we'll get lucky and Urrutia will produce quickly, too.

ofahn wrote:It's not that I question his talent, it's just that I think it would be best to let him hit in a position where he can be most successful right away. We had Machado hitting in the eight hole when he first came up and after about 200 ABs he was moved to the two hole. Maybe we'll get lucky and Urrutia will produce quickly, too.

But don't you think that's weird? Henry Urrutia is a left handed hitter. Why would he come to the majors and hit left handed pitching? I think it would make a whole lot more sense if a left handed hitter hit right handed pitching?

osforlife wrote:But don't you think that's weird? Henry Urrutia is a left handed hitter. Why would he come to the majors and hit left handed pitching? I think it would make a whole lot more sense if a left handed hitter hit right handed pitching?